Maine Governor Signs Bill to Contain Health Insurance Costs and Expand Coverage
17 04 08 - 20:11
April 16, 2008 -- AUGUSTA - Maine Governor John E. Baldacci today signed LD 2247, An Act to Continue Maine's Leadership in Covering the Uninsured. The bill seeks to contain rising costs of insurance and will enable DirigoChoice to expand enrollment after the bill becomes law.
"Maine has been a leader in providing quality health care coverage," Governor Baldacci said. "When we began working on Dirigo Health Reform in 2003, Maine was the first state in the nation to make achieving universal coverage a goal, and today states across the country are following our lead. When we began Maine had the highest rate of uninsured in New England, today we have the lowest. This bill continues our leadership. We will continue to make insurance more affordable and work to contain rising health care costs."
Specifically, LD 2247 provides rate relief to about 40,000 people who don't have employer-based coverage and who buy individual health policies in the private market. It establishes a pilot program of new products for people under 30, designed to meet their needs at a price they can afford and to bring healthy people back into the market to help spread risk and lower costs. Forty-four percent of Maine's uninsured are under 30 years of age.
The legislation also replaces the controversial Savings Offset Payment (SOP) with a more predictable source of funding and enables DirigoChoice enrollment to reopen to small businesses and the self-employed. Currently, more than 700 small businesses participate in DirigoChoice and the program has increased competition in the individual market.
The majority of both houses of the Legislature supported funding Dirigo Health in part with funds generated from taxes on health-related activities like those included in the new law -- beer, wine and soda. The bill also includes a fixed 1.8 percent surcharge on paid claims. Additional funding will come from the Fund for a Healthy Maine, which was created in 1999 to receive Maine's annual tobacco settlement payments and is dedicated to promoting good health for Maine citizens.
"DirigoChoice has provided affordable insurance for more than 28,000 Mainers since its inception," the Governor said. "This program has saved millions of dollars in Maine's health care system and has literally saved lives. With the passage of this legislation, Mainers will continue to have health coverage and Dirigo can continue to provide quality health care coverage to about 18,000 Mainers who would otherwise have to go without."
Bill Keleher, owner of Micro Technologies Inc. in Richmond, said that DirigoChoice has enabled him to provide health insurance to his employees at a reasonable price. One of Keleher's employees, Rebecca Boulanger, said that affordable DirigoChoice coverage enables her to provide the security of health insurance for her children and save for their college education.
The bill was sponsored by House Majority Leader, Rep. Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven) and was co-sponsored by other members of leadership from both the House and Senate.
"I would like to thank the members of the House and Senate for the long hours and hard work they have contributed on this bill," Governor Baldacci said. "Thanks to the efforts of the Legislature, we are ensuring that more Mainers will receive health care coverage with DirigoChoice. I am proud to say that we're moving toward a day when health insurance will be affordable for, and available to, all Mainers."
The Governor said he will continue to work with stakeholders and through Dirigo Health Reform efforts such as the Maine Quality Forum, the State Health Plans, and other mechanisms to address underlying costs of health care.
"It is vital for our hardworking families and businesses that we reduce health care costs and make health insurance more affordable for everyone," said Governor Baldacci.
For more information on Dirigo Health Reform, please visit http://www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/health_care.html